A Longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives: Part 4—Benefits beyond the self? A quantitative and qualitative study of system-level activities and impacts

✍ Scribed by Rich Janzen; Geoffrey Nelson; John Trainor; Joanna Ochocka

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 176 KB
• Volume: 34
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0090-4392
• DOI: 10.1002/jcop.20100

✦ Synopsis

The purpose of this article is to report on the system-level findings of a longitudinal study of four mental health consumer-run self-help organizations. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that staff and members of the four Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) participated actively in system-level activities, including community planning, public education, advocacy, and action research. The qualitative data revealed a number of perceived system-level outcomes related to these activities: (1) changes in perceptions (changed perceptions of the public and mental health professionals about mental health or mental illness, the lived experience of consumer/survivors, the legitimacy of their opinions, and the perceived value of CSIs) and ( 2) concrete changes (tangible changes in service delivery practice, service planning, public policy, or funding allocations). These findings are discussed in the context of previous work on system-level activities and impacts of consumer/survivor organizations.